Over The Top - EPL

The inevitability of Pep and his Man City team became reality as they lifted their fourth title in a row, having won six out of eight titles under Pep Guardiola; Arsenal come just short having finished the season with 89 points and a near-perfect end of the season; the legendary Jurgen Klopp bids farewell to Liverpool and the Premier League; Villa get smoked on the final day but it doesn't matter given their Champions League status; Spurs and Chelsea round out the European spots; we look back at our preseason predictions; we hand out our end of season awards.

Arsenal and Man City continue to win out to set up a dramatic final day; Tuesday's Tottenham vs. Man City match holds awkward title implications; Villa come back from behind to draw Liverpool, setting Villa up nicely for a Champions League spot next to Liverpool, barring an unbelievable end to Spurs' season; Burnley are relegated with loss at Spurs and Luton virtually ensure all three promoted teams will drop straight back down to the Championship.

Despite feelings of an inevitable Man City title charge, an impressive Arsenal keep humming with an easy 3-0 win over Bournemouth; Haaland's "poor season" continues after putting four past Wolves and putting him top of the goal scoring charts; Aston Villa look set for the Champions League with Spurs falling apart at the season's end; Manchester United's season becomes so miserable that even Chelsea could finish above them, with much more momentum looking ahead; Burnley and Luton look sure to join Sheffield United in the relegation places barring major surprises.

The pressure gets to title hopefuls Arsenal and Liverpool as they both slip to surprising home losses; Liverpool's fail to score from big chances and fall to a slick Palace side; Arsenal fail to take advantage against an impressive Aston Villa side, who dominated the second half; Newcastle destroy Spurs again at St. James Park to complicate Spurs' Champions League hopes; United are unconvincing again in draw at Bournemouth; Cole Palmer scores four in Everton route and goes level with top scorer Haaland on 20 goals.

The typically poor Manchester United team complicated Liverpool's title run with a surprise 2-2 draw, relying on golazos and an off day from Liverpool's attack; Arsenal go top and level on points with Liverpool; KDB leads Man City to a point behind the Gunners and Reds; Spurs return to 4th after a home win and Aston Villa's draw against Brentford; Luton's last gasp winner almost gets them out of relegation zone; Everton are docked two more points. 

High quality, back-and-forth football was served up in the game of the season between Liverpool and Man City despite the draw. With Arsenal's late win against Brentford, the title run-in with 10 games left has the neutral fan licking their lips. Arsenal currently sit top on goal differential, Liverpool are tied on points in 2nd, and Man City are only a point behind. Meanwhile, in the race for 4th, Spurs stick their flag at Villa Park with a 4-0 spanking that leaves as many impacts psychologically as it does to the table. United's unconvincing win also keeps them within touching distance. 

Despite going 1-0 down to a Rashford counter attacking screamer, Man City's supremacy in Manchester was on full display with a dominant 3-1 win; Phil Foden's case for being City's (and the Premier League's) player of the season grows; Liverpool nab late win at Forest with 99th minute Darwin Nunez header; Villa and Spurs earn wins to keep their Champions League hopes firmly alive; Arsenal obliterate Sheffield United and drastically improve their goal differential in the process.

Liverpool lifted the Carabao Cup in Klopp's final year with a late Van Dijk header in extra time; the Reds finish the game with more than half a team full of youth team players; Chelsea's billion dollar investment leaves them mid table and trophyless in their first year under new ownership; Arsenal start to click into gear and look like pushing City and Liverpool to the end; Manchester United revert to type with a late loss at home to Fulham; Crystal Palace make a managerial change as Roy Hodgson ends a legendary career and former Frankfurt manager Oliver Glasner steps into the role. 

Arteta's team claimed a massive scalp to stay in touch with the league leaders, dominating a relatively one-sided match; Liverpool make rare errors in a game with strange goals; Wolves & Matheus Cunha smash a clueless Chelsea side, raising more questions about Pochettino's tenure; Man United produced their best 90-minute performance of the season in 3-0 West Ham spanking;  Spurs concede late at Goodison Park and struggle to deal with the Toffees aerial game plan; Newcastle and Luton serve up unbelievable 4-4 draw; Foden hat trick eases City past Brentford. 

Jurgen Klopp announces he will leave at the end of the season, saying he's running out of energy; Klopp leaves a legendary legacy behind after nine years at Anfield, and Liverpool blow Chelsea away in first game since Klopp's announcement; Newcastle claim Villa scalp in Birmingham; Spurs' 10-minute blitz edges them past Brentford; Adebayo hits hat-trick in unbelievable 4-0 win over Brighton; a quiet January transfer window comes to a close in a new Financial Fair Play reality. 

Over the Top returns after our midseason vacation, and some catch-up is in order. We take a look at where things stand after halfway through the season by looking at the table, touching upon some feel good stories and discussing the most disappointing performers thus far. 

Chelsea and Man City play out a Premier League classic at Stamford Bridge as Pochettino's young team up their level to draw 4-4; the result shows Chelsea trending up but inconsistencies remain; an injury-riddled Newcastle are dominated by lowly Bournemouth, who climb out of the relegation zone with their second goal of the season; Wolves stun injury-hit Spurs twice in extra time to claim last-minute 2-1 win; Man United continue their uninspired form but earn win against Luton; Arsenal, Liverpool and Villa all earn win to narrow the gap at the top; we look at the table with nearly a third of the season gone. 

Chelsea and Spurs produce a bizarre and heated match that involved constant VAR stoppages, two red cards for Spurs and a batch of late goals for the Blues; although it's hard to take much away for Spurs or Chelsea given the circumstances, the Van de Ven and Maddison injuries are a major concern for Postecoglu; Newcastle narrowly edge Arsenal in another game riddled with VAR controversy that sparked a furious Arteta and Arsenal statement post-match despite lacking conclusive evidence that Newcastle's lone goal should've been chalked off; an uninspired Manchester United scrape by Fulham with Bruno's late strike; other highlights include a lights out Jeremy Doku performance and a Mohammed Kudus bike. 

Chelsea and Arsenal played out a draw at Stamford Bridge after the Blues edged the contest for 70 minutes, only for a Robert Sanchez mistake to kickstart Arsenal's comeback in the game; Man City beat Brighton in a close game where Brighton did themselves proud, but some questions remain about Man City's early season form; Liverpool took advantage of Ashley Young's red card but should've seen red themselves in a dull 2-0 win in the Merseyside Derby; a deep dive into the struggling sides after 9 matches.

Arsenal and Man City's dull but high stakes clash could be a symbolic win for Mikel Arteta over his mentor; Man City's last two sub-par performances are good for the league but not unusual for Pep's dominant side; exciting draws between Brighton and Liverpool as well as West Ham and Newcastle; Scott McTominay goes full Fergie Time after scoring two goals in extra time in Man United smash-and-grab; Spurs are top of the table going into the international break. 

Errors by VAR referees and controversial red cards overshadowed Tottenham's 2-1 win over an incredibly unlucky Liverpool; the PGMOL releases audio of the VAR review for Luis Diaz's wrongly disallowed goal; the City of Manchester has a rough weekend as Wolves upset a half-baked Man City 2-1 and United's terrible form continues with 1-0 loss at home to Crystal Palace; Villa smash Brighton and Luton pick up their first win. 

The North London Derby finishes 2-2 in an even and entertaining match; both North London sides benefitted from mistakes and dominated stretches of the game; Liverpool impress in 3-1 win against a stubborn West Ham with a nice Darwin Nunez goal; Chelsea lose yet again, this time to Aston Villa; Newcastle embarrass Sheffield United with 8-0 scoreline; Haaland takes his tally to 8 goals and Rodri sees red in win over Forest; Everton pull off massive 3-1 win at Brentford; incredible Bruno volley edges Manchester United past Burnley.

Brighton, who fielded a starting lineup purchased for ~17M GBP, dominate a hapless Manchester United who look disjointed in the early stages of the season; United's issues are on and off the field with Sancho and Antony situations; Man City overcome stubborn West Ham with class from newer recruits like Jeremy Doku and Julian Alvarez; Spurs go from a disappointing loss to the latest comeback in Premier League history with goals in the 98th and 100th minute; Arsenal grind out another close win as a highly-anticipated North London Derby approaches; and rounding out with transfers we missed at the end of the window and post-transfer window table predictions. 

Liverpool hit Newcastle late at St James Park despite early Van Dijk red and Alexander-Arnold mistake; Darwin Nuñez double could spell good news for the Reds; West Ham perfectly execute game plan to win at Brighton; Chelsea and Spurs cruise to comfortable wins; Manchester United overcome the worst start possible in 3-2 win against Nottingham Forest; experimental Arsenal slip up in Fulham draw; Everton's struggles continue. 

Spurs make an early season statement in a surprising 2-0 win against an underperforming Man United side; Chelsea's teething problems show in a mixed but promising performance despite conceding on the counter in loss to West Ham; questions remain about who will score the goals for Chelsea with only a week left in the transfer window; Man City handily beat Newcastle in sleepy match; Arsenal comfortably see out Crystal Palace 1-0; big scorelines include Aston Villa's 4-0 win over an abysmal Everton and Brighton spanking Wolves 4-1; early season overreactions continue. 

Time for week 1 overreactions. Incomplete Chelsea and Liverpool squads serve up an intriguing matchup to kick of Mauricio Pochettino's reign as Blues manager; Chelsea sign Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia under Liverpool's noses to beef up their midfield; Newcastle fly out of the blocks on opening day by blowing away Aston Villa; Tottenham kick off the Postecoglu and post-Harry Kane eras with a mixed yet positive point away to Brentford; Manchester United benefit from a refereeing error in an unimpressive win vs. Wolves; Man City and Arsenal both win without having to get out of second gear; Brighton start this season how they finished last season. 

After a couple months on summer vacation, the 2023/2024 English Premier League is back Friday as Man City take on recently-promoted Burnley. The guys share their preseason predictions from top to bottom and look at some recently announced transfers. 

Summer silly season is in full swing and the transfer rumors won't stop coming. But first, a few new faces will enter the season as managers of Chelsea, Tottenham and Bournemouth; The Saudi Pro League is having  a LIV Golf moment by going after much of the world's best talent, including Ruben Neves, Alexander Mitrovic and most of Chelsea's deadwood; the rest of the transfers are examined as a month of the window remains. 

A week full of headlines includes: Man City win the treble after Champions League win, Messi is coming to the MLS, and West Ham win the Conference League despite battling relegation for much of the season; Although the Champions League win wasn't as straightforward as many predicted, Pep won't care and Inter can be proud of the performance; Transfer season is in full swing and we look at the day's rumors as well as storylines heading into summer. 

The 2022-2023 season wraps up with the relegation picture decided on the final day as Leeds and Leicester will join Southampton in the lower leagues next season; end-of-season reflections are discussed such as most impressive team or player, most surprising moment, most disappointing thing, best signing and favorite storylines; our teams of the season; Champions League final predictions. 

Manchester City claimed their third straight Premier League title after Arsenal lost to Nottingham Forest; an examination of where this City team stands against the best ever Premier League teams; Forest's win secures their safety; only one out of Leicester, Leeds and Everton will survive after next weekend's finale; Newcastle are way ahead of schedule by finishing in a Champions League place; Brighton's incredible season finishes in a Europa League spot; Aston Villa and Spurs fight it out in the epic battle for 7th place and the Conference League. 

The pressure ultimately got to a young Arsenal team as the Gunners are drubbed at home to Brighton; Man City put one hand on the Premier League title after brilliant Gundogan brace; the fantastic Seagulls control their Europa League destiny; Liverpool keep their Champions League hopes alive and leave Leicester essentially doomed for relegation; Southampton's loss this weekend confirmed the Saints' relegation after 11 years in the league; Leeds, Everton and Forrest try to avoid the other relegation spot. 

Man City control their destiny after dominant win over Arsenal in the biggest game of the season; the guys dissect Man City's incredible team and give Arsenal kudos for keeping up throughout the season; Kyle's England trip included some historically bad losses for Tottenham Hotspur and a refund for the Newcastle match; an update on the relegation picture; Sheffield United are promoted back to the Premier League; a look at Wrexham's Hollywood story with owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. 

Liverpool and Arsenal play out a thrilling 2-2 draw in what will go down as a Premier League classic; Brighton were robbed by VAR officials not once, but twice (potentially three times) as Spurs got the rub of the green; Bournemouth and Wolves claim major wins in the relegation fight while Southampton and Nottingham Forest look doomed and Leicester look concerned.

Within the space of two weeks, four managers have left their posts at Chelsea, Tottenham, Leicester and Crystal Palace; seven points separate 12th - 20th place in the closest relegation battle in recent memory; Brighton's great form makes finishing in a European spot possible; Man United & Newcastle take control of the Champions League spots. 

Liverpool delivered the most eye-catching scoreline of the season after embarrassing  Manchester United 7-0; Klopp's team are now favorites for fourth place; Arsenal complete a dramatic comeback with late Reiss Nelson winner; Man City welcomed back Phil Foden and comfortably navigated past Newcastle; Spurs follow up FA Cup loss with another loss at Wolves; Brighton prove they are competitors for a European spot. 

Erik Ten Hag claims his first trophy as Manchester United boss after his team comfortably beat a Newcastle side aiming to win their first trophy in over 50 years; Chelsea produce another terrible display under Graham Potter as Tottenham ease past the Blues; West Ham hammer Nottingham Forest, Arsenal beat a poor Leicester side and City thrash a doomed Bournemouth team. 

Three of the "Big 6" are in the news regarding potential ownership takeovers: Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham; Competing bids for Manchester United only spell good news for the Glazer ownership at the club; the title race swings back in Arsenal's favor after their epic away win at Aston Villa and Man City's draw with Nottingham Forest; Marcus Rashford is the world's most in-form player; Liverpool win at Newcastle to blow the Top 4 race wide open; Chelsea fans ponder whether to ditch the Graham Potter experiment or "trust the process"; former Watford manager Javi Gracia is in at Leeds; the relegation race produces crucial results as West Ham lose their London Derby against Spurs and Everton beat Leeds.

The Premier League dropped bombshell news on Monday by charging Manchester City with over 100 breaches of financial rules. The serious charges come after a four-year investigation and punishment could range from a points deduction to expulsion from the Premier League (however unlikely). The charges also came after a surprising loss at Tottenham; Everton pull off the shock of the season by beating league-leaders Arsenal in Sean Dyche's first game as manager; Harry Kane breaks Spurs' all-time goalscoring record with his 267th goal for Spurs; Jesse Marsch loses his job as Leeds manager after failing to improve results a year after his hiring; Liverpool's concerning season compounds with a 3-0 spanking from a goal-shy Wolves team; Brighton & Brentford's great seasons continue with their great form.

While everyone shells out the cash, Everton twiddle their thumbs in the transfer market after replacing Lampard with Sean Dyche; Chelsea smash multiple records on young stars, but questions remain about the strategy; Arsenal ace the window by adding squad depth with Trossard & Jorginho; Cancelo's shock transfer to Bayern; United & Tottenham's solid loan signings; relegation-threatened spend big. 

Arsenal dominate a massive North London Derby to extend their lead on Man City; a derby loss leaves Spurs in a tricky position as Conte continues to raise questions over his future; Man United win narrow Manchester Derby in controversial fashion, City's loss puts them eight points behind Arsenal with United close behind; Liverpool manage to fumble even more as Brighton dominate The Reds; the Ramen-o-Meter returns with several managers under pressure; Chelsea go bananas in the January transfer window.  

Graham Potter's struggling Chelsea side find themselves in 10th place after winning one in eight; where has it all gone wrong and can they fix it? The January transfer window opens with Cody Gakpo to Liverpool and Cristiano Ronaldo to Saudi side Al Nassr; transfer rumors in the news; a preview of the Manchester Derby and North London Derby. 

Argentina is crowned the World Cup champions for the first time in over 30 years as Lionel Messi solidifies his status as possibly the best ever; Kylian Mbappe's amazing final hat trick and overall tournament see him grab the torch from Messi as the best in his generation; an all-time classic tournament served up multiple gripping storylines including Morocco, Croatia, Ronaldo's demise and the corruption/controversy leading up to the tournament; teams of the tournament; the Premier League returns on Dec. 26!

This young and skilled American talent pool beat Iran to move onto the round of 16; A deep dive into the US' performances through the world cup group stage; a look at the various groups and what we've seen so far, including surprises, shocking upsets and a handful of disappointments; we predict who finishes first and second in the remaining groups, and predict round of 16 results. 

Arsenal continue to play teams off the park and are five points clear going into the World Cup break; Man City are expected champions but have been outpaced by Arsenal so far; Newcastle's one loss and rise into 3rd has been the story of the season; Spurs' rollercoaster of emotions continues but they go into the World Cup in 4th; Manchester United's interesting season gets complicated with Ronaldo's bombshell interview; Liverpool and Chelsea get off to disappointing starts but it's a long season ahead; Emery and Lopetegui appointments demonstrate the Premier League's increasing power. 

Manchester United and Tottenham's form go in opposite directions after their midweek match; Casemiro goes full Madrid with extra time equalizer against Chelsea; Newcastle capitalize on Spurs mistakes in upset; America's own Jesse Marsch is under pressure at Leeds after failing to win since August; 

Liverpool put an end to Man City's Win Streak; Van Dijk leads a much changed defense towards stopping Haaland; Arsenal continue unbelievable start with 9 wins in 10; Leeds caused the Gunners issues but were unable to earn a point; Spurs and Chelsea both win to create some distance in the Top 4 race; Man United and Newcastle play out a bore draw. 

Arsenal and Liverpool play out a brilliant match at the Emirates; the Gunners earn  a controversial penalty to knick a much-deserved win; Liverpool's concerns compound with a lengthy Luis Diaz injury; Potter grows more comfortable in his Chelsea managerial role as the Blues breeze past a managerless Wolves and earn vital Champions League wins vs. AC Milan; Spurs earn crucial win away at Brighton in the face of tragedy as fitness coach dies; Leicester slump continues; City are a machine, what else is there to say?; Newcastle grow into a purple patch of form. 

The Man City machine steamrolls limp Manchester United; Foden hits hat trick and so does Haaland (his third home hat trick in a row); Arsenal dominate Tottenham at home in the North London Derby yet again; Leandro Trossard completes the weekend of hat tricks with a fine treble at Liverpool, who continue to struggle; Connor Gallagher scores extra time winner at his former club Crystal Palace; Bruno Lage is the third manager to lose his job after Wolves sacking. 

After a month off, Over The Top is back. Chelsea shocks everyone by sacking Thomas Tuchel after a questionable start to the season; Graham Potter takes a massive career opportunity by replacing Tuchel at Stamford Bridge; Arsenal's near-perfect start means they're the in-form team heading into the North London Derby; Erling Haaland has taken no time to bed into the Premier League, scoring 11 goals in 7 matches; Spurs' strange but strong start to the season shows newfound depth; Liverpool's messy start to the season continues; Erik Ten Hag massively improves Manchester United with help from his new signings after a shocking start; Leicester have been the dumpster fire of the season while Brighton and Fulham are positive surprises. 

After a terrible start to the season, Manchester United pull off a shock win against half-baked Liverpool; the Ten Hag era begins with Ronaldo and Maguire on the bench plus Casemiro soon to come; Leeds United States play Chelsea off the park as the young Americans impress; City and Newcastle serve up the game of the season; Arsenal go top of the table after three wins in a row and show they mean business; Spurs grind out a tricky win against new-look Wolves; Fulham earn last gasp win in a crazy match against Brentford.

Thomas Tuchel and Antonio Conte get heated in a dramatic 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge; Harry Kane somehow earns Spurs an undeserved draw after Chelsea dominate and prove they shouldn't be underestimated; Manchester United produce one of the most embarrassing results the pod has ever seen in Brentford's dominant win; Erik Ten Hag has a massive job ahead of him and Liverpool are next; Liverpool draw for the second time in a row as Darwin Nuñez sees red; Arsenal continue their promising start as Gabriel Jesus produces an Matchweek 2 MVP performance.

Manchester United's off-field issues continue to derail the team, giving Erik Ten Hag an uphill task; Kyle and Justin wonder what United's recruiting team has been up to; the Premier League's new strikers flex their muscles; new boys Fulham and Mitrovic surprise Liverpool on the opening day; Haaland bags a casual brace as the rest of the league looks on in horror; Tottenham and Arsenal impress on the opening day; Leeds United States of America earn a big W on opening day as Brendan Aaronson shines. The lads also share Matchweek 1 overreactions. 

The 2022-2023 English Premier League returns on Friday and the lads make their table predictions; the top teams invest in their striking departments; United's Ten Hag era gets off to a strange start with off-the-field distractions; the North London clubs are arguably winning the transfer window; Chelsea's new ownership group make good signings but have struggled in the transfer market. 

The lads hand out our annual Over the Top End of Season Awards: team of the season, MVP, signing of the season, manager of the season, most improved player, most disappointing player, biggest surprise of the season and goal of the season. We then dive into the summer transfer window and discuss the already-completed deals and rumors that are bubbling in the press. 

The Premier League served up an all-time classic final day of the season as Manchester City came from two goals down - scoring 3 goals in 5 minutes with 15 minutes remaining; Liverpool push City to the edge with late winner against Wolves; Chelsea and Tottenham lock down 3rd and 4th place respectively and a spot in next year's Champions League; Burnley stutter against Crystal Palace on the final day; Leeds take advantage by beating Brentford, sealing Jesse Marsch's Leeds Premier League fate and doom Burnley to the Championship.